Pie contest and auction sweetens community
50 <
HEPPNER
imes
VOL. 122
NO. 31
6 Pages
Wednesday, July 30,2003
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Health District will need tax
levy or run out of money
The Morrow County
Health District will have to float
a successful tax levy this spring
or will run out of money next
year, MCHD CEO Victor
Vander Does told the board
at th e ir reg u lar m eeting
Monday night in lone.
Vander Does told the
board that they will have to put
up a levy in the spring election,
because if they wait until
November it will be too late
to save the district and most
o f the services it provides. He
said that the “w orst case
scenario,” if the district runs
out o f money, would be that
the district would be forced to
close the two district clinics,
in Heppner and Irrigon, stop
support paym ents to the
Boardman clinic operated by
Dr. Robert Boss and close
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
and Nursing Home, which
show a loss. In that event,
Vander Does said the district
w ould retain em ergency
services in Heppner and also
continue operating Pioneer
Memorial Home Health and
Hospice, which makes money
for the district.
Vander Does told the
board that the district needs an
additional $300,000-plus to
retain the services it now
provides. “This is not a threat,”
said Vander Does. “This will
be a reality unless someone
nice brings us in $300,000.”
The district did receive a
$3 0 0 ,000 g ift from the
Bechdolt estate which helped
balance the budget this year.
Board member Ed
Glenn told the board that he
did not believe Boardman
residents would be willing to
approve such a levy and
do u b ted w h eth er south
Morrow County voters would
pass it either. He said that such
a move would likely increase
pressure on Boardman to
withdraw from the district. He
and board member John Prag
commented that the city of
Boardman is so flush that it
could possibly fund medical
services on its own and also
added that Boardman voters
may want to approve their own
levy, even though those
serv ices could co st the
residents o f Boardman as
much as an additional $ 1 per
thousand assessed valuation,
according to earlier estimates
by the district.
Glenn and Prag said
that they believed Dr. Boss’
clinic in Boardman would still
remain open even if the district
discontinues payment, and
reiterated that primary care is
the major service provided by
the district in the Boardman
and Irrigon area, with the
residents o f north Morrow
County already driving at least
20 minutes for emergency
care. C lo sin g c lin ic s in
Heppner and Irrigon would
leave those towns without
district-provided primary
care. A physician, Dr. Kenneth
Wenberg, maintains a private
practice in Heppner, but there
is no private clinic in Irrigon.
Vander Does told the
board that the state will allow
PMH to retain its Trauma
Level IV designation, even
though, as a cost-saving
measure, PMH will no longer
have a physician on 24-hour
call. Vander Does said that the
district is in the process of
hiring a mid-level provider,
such as a nurse practitioner or
physician’s assistant, to cover
the emergency room, which
will save the district money.
Board member Larry
Mills suggested that the board
discuss the tax issue, which is
expected to be extremely
co m p licated
w ith
compression, enterprise zones
and other issues, with the
district’s accountant Mike
Bell.
The district had a
$270,310 profit for the month
o f June, which includes the
estate donation. Without the
donation, the district showed
a $37,000 loss for the month
of June. The loss for May was
$68,341. The year-to-date
loss was $249,405, compared
to a b u d g eted loss o f
$267,848.
Statistics show that
Pioneer Memorial Clinic had
411 patient visits for the month
of June and the Irrigon Clinic
had 141 patient visits. Pioneer
Memorial Hospital had a total
o f 28 patients. The Heppner
Ambulance had seven runs,
Boardman, 15, and Irrigon,
13.
Class of ‘93 to
hold picnic
H eppner
High
School Class o f 1993 is
meeting for an informal
reunion picnic at 11:30 a.m.,
on Saturday, Aug. 16 in the
city park. Due to limited
funds, the event is a bring-
your-own-food affair.
All class members
and their families, friends and
school employees are invited
to attend. During the picnic,
plans w ill be discussed
concerning a possible formal
reunion for the summer of
2004.
Premium Cenex Motor Oil Quart Sale
Multi-Grade: 5-20, 5-30,10-30,10-40
Don**
■«.
» !*
For Gasoline Engines
ucatur'U*
10% O FF — * *
Morrow County Grain Growers
Lexington 989-8221 • 1-800-452-7396
For form equipm ent, vtalt our web tite a t WWW. mcff.net
The 2003 Celebrate Part of Celebrate Heppner
Heppner Pie Auction raised
$850 for the H eppner
Chamber. Twenty-two pies
where auctioned off, with
Whitney Matthew’s Caramel
Apple pie bringing in $ 105.
At a pie ju d g in g
co n test held before the
auction, Dennis Wall took first
with his Chocolate Almond
Cream pie; April Sykes took
second with her Rhubarb Sour
Cream pie; and Betty Pfeiffer
took third with her Apple pie.
F irst and second
Morrow County Fair & OTPR Princesses Megan
place received a $100 gift
McCabe (left) and Lexi Kennedy (right) display contest
certificate to any Chamber pies, while auctioneer Larry Mills (background) works
m erchant. Second place his magic.
received a $50 gift certificate
to any Chamber merchant.
First and second place prizes
were sponsored by Sherrell
Insurance Agency. The third
place prize, sponsored by
John Gochnauer, was a $40
gift certificate to John’s Place
Restaurant.
A lso as a special
treat, the three winners have
decided to share their winning
recipes with the community.
I * piace_ Chocolate
Almond Cream Pie, made
Community members gathered together, July 25, to
by Dennis Wall.
C rust:
G raham Celebrate Heppner, and enjoy a B-B-Q dinner in City
Park sponsored by Bank of Eastern Oregon.(top and
cracker crust
bottom pictures)
Filling: 2 boxes Jello®
brand 5-minute chocolate pie
filling, made with whole milk.
Mix the filling according to the
directions on the box. Put
filling mixture into graham
cracker crust.
Topping: 1 pint heavy
w hipping
cream ,
8
tablespoons sugar and 1
tablespoon almond extract.
W hip m ixture to m ake
whipped cream. Place on top
of filling. Garnish top with
shaved semi-sweet chocolate
bar and sliced almonds.
Makes a 10-inch pie.
2nd Place- Rhubarb
Sour Cream Pie, made by
April Sykes.
Crust: (M akes one
double crust, however, you
will need two double crusts for
this recipe.) 2 'A cups flour, lA
teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon
baking powder, 1 cup Butter
flavored Crisco® and 'A cup
ice water. Mix together flour,
salt and baking powder. Then
cut in Crisco® until crumbly.
Next mix in ice water. Divide
dough into two pieces. Form Heppnerites and other Willow Valley residents stroll
into circle and roll out on a along the sidewalk sales of Heppner businesses, during
floured surface. Place one Celebrate Historic Heppner, July 25.
unbaked crust in each pie
plate.
Filling: 6 cups rhubarb,
cut in ‘/ 2 -inch slices or less, 3
cups sugar, 2 cups sour cream,
V i cups flour and 2
tab lesp o o n s butter. Mix
together rhubarb, sugar and
flour. Stir in sour cream. Divide
mixture and place in the two
shells. Place 1 tablespoon of
butter on top of each pie. Place
one unbaked crust on top of
each pie. Prick crust with fork
several times.
Bake 350 degrees for Sainarra D. Van Doom of Go Music In Heppner pro
1 to 1 lA hours, until crust is vides entertainment for the crowd downtown Friday.
flaky and filling is bubbly.
3rd Place-Apple Pie,
made by Betty Pfeiffer, last
year’s first place winner.
C rust: (m akes 3
double crusts) In a 1-cup
m easuring cup, put 1
tablespoon white vinegar, 1
egg and then fill with water to
make 1-cup. In a bowl, sift 5
cups flour and 2 teaspoons
salt. C ut in 2 'A cups
shortening until you get a
“course meal" texture. To flour
mixture add liquid mixture,
stirring it in with a fork. Dough Kids trv their luck at the dunk tank downtown
may be frozen successfully.
Bake at 400 degrees
Roll dough to make pie crust. and sprinkle a little on the crust.
Place one crust in the bottom The take halfof the diy mixture for 50 minutes.
of pie plate.
and mix with half the apples
Filling: 5 cups sliced and place those apples in
apples, 2 heaping tablespoons crust. Add remaining dry
ALL NEWS AND
flour, V* teaspoon salt, I ingredients and cut butter on ADVERTISEMENT
teasp o o n cin n am o n , Vi top. Then add rem aining
DEADLINE:
teaspoon nutmeg and 1 'A cups apples and sprinkle with 1
(2 cups if green apples) sugar. tablesp<xin lemon juice before MONDAYS AT 5:00
P.M.
Mix dry ingred: mts together putting on top crust.